The Trainer's Handbook

Karen Lawson

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781118933145
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

A ready-to-use toolkit for delivering high-value training in any scenario

The Trainer's Handbook is a comprehensive manual for designing, developing, and delivering effective and engaging training. Based on the feedback of workshop participants, readers, and instructors, this new third edition has been expanded to provide guidance toward new technologies, leadership training, distance learning, blended learning, and other increasingly common issues, with new case studies for each chapter. A systematic approach to training breaks the book into five parts that separately target analysis, design, development, delivery, and evaluation, giving you a comprehensive reference designed for quick look-up and easy navigation. New inventories, worksheets, job aids, checklists, activities, samples, and templates help you bring new ideas into the classroom, and updated instructor guide help you seamlessly integrate new and established methods and techniques.

Training is increasingly expanding beyond the traditional instructor-led classroom; courses may now be delivered online or offsite, may be asynchronous and self-led, and may be delivered to individuals, small groups, or entire organizations. This book gives you a one-stop reference and toolkit to help you provide more effective training, regardless of class size, structure, subject, or objective.

• Explore new training styles adapted to different learning styles
• Design specialized instructional plans for groups, distance learning, and active training
• Blend creativity, logic and design principles to create more effective visuals
• Develop strategies for training leaders, training across cultures, and more

Effective training means delivering useful information in a way that's accessible, approachable, understandable, and memorable. The Trainer's Handbook gives you the knowledge and framework you need to provide a high-value experience in any training scenario.

Part I
Training Fundamentals

Chapter 1
Assessing Needs

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Learning Outcomes

In this chapter, you will learn

• To identify key steps in the needs-assessment process
• To select appropriate methods to gather data
• To develop questions for a variety of needs-assessment techniques
• To apply the needs-assessment process to a specific organization and situation

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Understanding Needs Assessment

Every year companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars in training programs that fail. Why? Because they fail to provide programs that meet the specific business needs of the organization and the specific professional development needs of the employee.

A needs assessment is the core of any training program. It gives you the basis for program development and establishes the criteria for measuring the success of the program after its completion.

What Is a Needs Assessment?

Needs assessors are much like physicians, who ask a series of questions and order a battery of medical tests to uncover and treat the causes rather than the symptoms of an ailment. Needs assessment is the process of determining the cause, extent, and appropriate cure for organizational ills. The process addresses the organizational context and combines organizational analysis, data gathering, and interviewing techniques to identify and shrink the gap between desired and actual knowledge, skills, and performance. It is a careful study of the organizational context, the job itself, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the job incumbents.

Simply put, the process identifies the desired performance and the current performance. The difference or the gap between the actual and the desired level of performance becomes the training need and provides the basis for the training design. The correct problem identification (cause) is the key to developing and implementing appropriate corrective measures (proper cure).

Why Conduct a Needs Assessment?

Before we address how to conduct a needs assessment, we need to take a look at the reasons for doing one. Overall, the purpose of a needs assessment is to prevent a quick-fix, bandage approach to business problems. Instead, a needs assessment, if you do it properly, will ensure that the solution(s) addresses the real issue(s) and effectively focuses the appropriate resources, time, and effort toward a targeted solution. The following are some valid reasons for conducting a needs assessment.

To Determine Whether Training Is Needed

Poor performance is not always a training issue. Often performance problems are the result of poor management practices, organizational barriers, or inadequate systems or equipment. A needs assessment, if conducted properly, will determine whether training is necessary and avoid the mistake of applying a training solution to a nontraining problem. If it is determined that the problem does require training, the needs assessment will help you identify the performance issues that training should address.

To Determine Causes of Poor Performance

As noted, poor performance can be the result of many other factors, including poor incentives, lack of internal motivation, the work environment, poor management, inadequate skills and knowledge, or the employees' lack of confidence. Sometimes, the cause may be poor management. Poor management practices might include poor hiring decisions, poor communication, unclear expectations, or inadequate coaching and feedback. For example, there is a saying that “ducks don't climb trees.” Unfortunately, corporations are full of “ducks” in positions that require “squirrels,” and no matter how hard they try, they will never succeed in their positions. In other words, if employees are put in positions for which they are unsuited, all the training in the world will not improve their performance. In other cases, managers fail their employees by not stating clearly their expectations or standards of performance.

Often employees do not know what is expected of them. They may have the knowledge, skills, and ability to do the job quite well but are not meeting the manager's expectations. If that is the case, then the training needs to be directed toward the manager rather than the manager's employees.

To Determine Content and Scope of Training

A needs assessment will help determine the type of training necessary to achieve results. Should it be workshop, self-study, or on-the-job? It will help you identify how long the training program should be and who the target audience is. It will also help you identify what should be included in the program and the degree of urgency.

To Determine Desired Training Outcomes

The needs assessment will help you determine what knowledge, skills, and attitudes need to be addressed during the training. It will also help distinguish “need to know” from “nice to know.” By focusing on what the trainees actually need to know in order to do their jobs better, a program can be developed that will get results.

To Provide Basis of Measurement

A needs assessment provides a baseline against which to measure results or changes. It is simply a starting point.

To Gain Management Support

By involving line management and other key organizational players, you wil...